***Trigger warnings for relapse, a heroin overdose, and vomit.***

Wait to start the song.

Tyler had never fought with Brendon like this. They'd argued a few times, but nothing like this. The harder Tyler tried to get ahold of Josh, the angrier Brendon became.

"Has he been treating you like that this whole time?" Brendon demanded as Tyler got Josh's voicemail again. When Tyler didn't respond, redialling Josh's number and calling again, Brendon spoke louder. "Why didn't you fucking tell me he talked to you like that? That's just as bad as hitting you, Tyler. Don't you get that? You can't let people treat you like that. You deserve better than that!"

"Shut up!" Tyler yelled finally.

Sarah looked fearfully between the two men from where she sat stiffly on the couch. She said nothing, not even when Brendon started to yell back at Tyler.

"I am not going to let people push you around like that! If you can't protect yourself from assholes like him, I'll do it for you. He isn't welcome here. He's a piece of shit," Brendon snapped just as angrily.

"He was scared!" Tyler yelled back finally. "He isn't really mad at me. He's trying to push me away so I won't stop him, and it's not going to fucking work. I know exactly what he's thinking right now. I know he's getting himself into a bad situation right now, and I need you to shut the fuck up so I can help him."

Before Brendon could yell again, Sarah spoke up gently. "What kind of bad situation, Ty?"

His bottom lip trembled as he sent another text to Josh. "I can't tell you."

The room was silent for a moment, but Sarah stood up with a bit of hesitation before walking over to Tyler and hugging him, guiding him to rest his head on her shoulder. He couldn't help but hug her back, breaking down as she held him. Brendon hesitated as well, clearly not sure what to make of this situation or how best to help Tyler.

"So what do we do? How do we.... How can we get him out of this bad situation?" Brendon asked, his voice tight and restrained. He didn't want to do this, but he would for Tyler.

Tyler shook his head, coughing out a sob. "I don't know. I don't know where he is. I just have a terrible feeling. I need him to call me back or to text me or to come home. I don't know where he is, or if he's-"

Just then, Tyler's phone rang. He didn't recognize the number, but he answered anyways with a hopeful, "Hello?"

"Did my dad call you?" Debby asked, skipping the formality of a proper greeting. She'd been crying too.

"No, why would he-"

"Josh overdosed at his house tonight." Tyler's stomach dropped as soon as he registered the words she'd said. She didn't wait for him to process that, continuing to speak anxiously. "I'm headed there now. I have some naloxone in my purse that should reverse the overdose, but he needs to go to the hospital. My dad said he's had three seizures already. I just.... Where are you? You should come. He'll want you there when he wakes up."

"I'm at home. We had a fight. I don't.... He saw his dad today, and he just-"

"Text me your address. I'm picking you up on my way over. He'll be okay, but he won't want me there when he wakes up. He'll want you, no matter what he said before the OD. Trust me. He's going to be terrified and in a lot of pain when he wakes up," Debby said confidently. "Take deep breaths, okay? Josh has bounced back from worse than this."

The words did little to comfort Tyler, but he still went into his room to get his shoes as he sent her his address. Brendon followed him, still fuming but trying to push the anger down for Tyler.

"Who was that?" Brendon asked.

"Debby," Tyler replied shakily as he pulled his shoe on.

"Josh's ex? What the fuck is he doing with her? I swear to god if he's been cheating on you with that-"

Start the song. It's Where's My Love (acoustic) by SYML.

Tyler didn't mean to start crying again, but he did. Josh was supposed to be here with him, slowly but surely getting better. He was supposed to know he could trust Tyler to take care of him. He was supposed to be safe, and now he was seizing in a body that was trying to shut itself down because Tyler hadn't been able to keep him from relapsing. This was just like what happened to Zack. It was all happening all over again, and Tyler couldn't see this happen twice.

"Ty?" Brendon asked in a quiet and somewhat fearful voice as he slowly sat down beside him on the carpet.

As much as Tyler didn't want to betray Josh, he couldn't do this without Brendon. He couldn't keep this secret for another person when he knew he was playing with fire. Josh needed help-real help. Tyler couldn't do that for him, no matter how badly he wished he could.

Tyler only had one shoe on as he shifted to lie down with his head in Brendon's lap and sobbed out, "Josh is really sick, and I can't help him. Debby's picking me up on her way to get him so we can take him to the hospital. Brendon, he can't die like Zack. He can't."

His best friend didn't seem to know what to do with that information until it suddenly clicked. He set a hand protectively on Tyler's back, rubbing it gently.

"Josh is an addict," Brendon realized out loud. "That's why you were trying to keep him from leaving. You knew he was going to use if he left."

"He's been clean for almost a month," Tyler whispered. "But then he saw his dad and.... He overdosed. He's seizing on some fucking drug dealer's couch with so much dope in his system that he could die like Zack, and I can't help him. I can't save him. I couldn't save Zack, and I can't save Josh."

Brendon sighed, running his fingers through Tyler's hair gently. "That's because Josh has to save Josh. No one else can do that for him. You know what? He might be okay. He might sober up in the hospital and be okay. Don't count him out already, okay? That attitude won't help anyone. Here, sit up."

Tyler was still trying to contain his sobs as he sat up, but a surprised expression crossed his face when Brendon helped him into his other shoe. "You're not going to tell me not to go?"

"I'm going with you," Brendon explained as he tied Tyler's sneakers for him. "That makes this time different than when Zack OD'd. You were alone that time. This time, you have me."

Tyler sat forward and hugged Brendon tightly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you and lied to you."

"I'm sorry I was a dick. I need to go put my shoes on though. Can I tell Sarah what's going on?" Brendon asked as he patted Tyler's back before disconnecting the hug.

"Yeah, you can tell her," Tyler replied quietly. He watched Brendon stand and head toward the door before quietly adding, "I didn't know about the drugs at first. I just thought he was sick until I realized he was going through opiate withdrawals. He left Debby and Ashley so he could get clean. He was doing a good job."

Brendon remained still in the doorway for a moment before nodding. "That was big of him," Brendon admitted, forcing himself to smile weakly at Tyler. "That's better than Zack. Zack didn't want to get better."

"That's all Josh wants," Tyler replied quietly, starting to cry again. "He wants to get his shit together so he can have a better life. He already overcame an addiction to cocaine. Heroin is the last thing. Once he gets past this, everything will be better."

Brendon nodded, sighing before leaving the room. Tyler looked around his bedroom. Josh's stuff was still here. His garbage bag of clothing sat on the floor by Tyler's closet. Sniffles continued to escape Tyler as he crawled over to Josh's clothes, digging through them until he found one of Josh's hoodies, which still smelled like him. He pulled it over his head before bringing the fabric up to his nose and breathing in the scent of cigarette smoke and cologne. Tears filled his eyes as he allowed himself to pretend, even for a moment, that he was still wrapped up in the man he loved so dearly.

"You're going to get through this," Tyler whispered, not sure if he was talking to himself or Josh. He whispered it over and over again until he heard someone knock on the front door.

He stood anxiously, clinging to the warmth of Josh's hoodie as he left his room. Sarah had opened the door for Debby, who was trembling and had clearly cried just as much as Tyler tonight. As soon as Debby saw Tyler, she was hugging him.

"He's going to be okay. I swear. He'll be okay," she promised him. "My dad didn't realize how much Josh was injecting. He said he doesn't even think Josh knew. He wasn't paying attention to the dope because they were talking. My dad was trying to keep him from relapsing, but Josh kept saying he was going to die, and then he just passed out. My dad's monitoring his breathing and stuff right now, but we need to hurry."

"Your dad?" Brendon asked, separating Tyler and Debby before leading them both out of the trailer.

She nodded. "He's the one who gave Josh the drugs. He's a fucking idiot. He's been dealing to Josh's dad since Josh was a fucking baby, and he got Josh and I into a bunch of shit as soon as we hit middle school. He's an asshole."

Brendon sat in the backseat of Debby's car while Tyler took the front. Even though her dad's house was only a few blocks away, she sped the whole way. As soon as the car stopped out front of the disgusting trailer she'd grown up in, they all piled out. Josh's car was parked haphazardly outside with the driver's side door still open. All of the lights were on in the trailer. Tyler hesitated outside, but Debby ran up to the front door, knocking on it in the same way Josh had earlier today before going inside. Tyler grabbed Brendon's hand before following Debby in.

Seeing Josh laying atop a sheet on the floor, soaked in piss and vomit whilst completely unconscious, was a complete nightmare. His chest barely rose and fell beneath one of Tyler's shirts, and his lips were blue.

Debby pulled a syringe out of her purse, sliding the needle into the already pockmarked skin on Josh's arm and pushing the naloxone into his system. He didn't move at all. Debby pushed one of his eyelids up, sighing.

"His pupils are practically gone. This isn't good," she said quietly. "Okay. One of you is going to have to carry him out to the car. His mom is going to meet us at the hospital. Tyler, you sit in the backseat with him. Do you know what to do if he has another seizure?"

Tyler nodded as he picked Josh up gently, too scared to even think about gagging at all of the bodily fluids he knew were being transferred from Josh to him at the touch. "Yeah. I've been with him during a seizure before. Hayley showed me what to do."

Debby's dad had been crying too, but Tyler hated him for that. He'd given Josh the dope. He didn't get to be upset right now. If he hadn't enabled Josh tonight, Josh might not be in this position right now.

When they climbed back into the car, Tyler kept Josh's head in his lap. There was vomit in Josh's pink curls, and his skin was pale beneath Tyler's fingertips as he brushed Josh's stained hair off of his forehead.

Brendon remained silent but kept glancing nervously at Tyler and Josh. Tyler was trying as hard as he could not to cry again. He knew if he did, he'd be hysterical in seconds. Josh needed him to be calm. He needed Tyler to be brave.

The breaths that left Josh's lungs were tiny pained wheezes that occurred infrequently. Tyler kept two fingers pressed against the pulse point on Josh's neck as Debby sped through El Reno. His heartbeat was faint at best. It jumped suddenly though, and Josh's muscles contracted and spasmed as he started to seize in Tyler's lap. Debby was telling Tyler what to do as soon as the seizing began, but Brendon just watched with horror in his eyes.

"Don't try to restrain him. I know the backseat is small, but give him as much space as you can. Don't put anything in his mouth. Just let him ride this out. When he's done, and I know this sounds gross, you need to check the back of his throat for vomit with your finger. His breathing is already restricted right now. We can't have anything blocking his airways," Debby said quickly.

Sitting still while Josh seized in his lap was the worst experience of Tyler's life. He wanted more than anything to help Josh, but all he could do was wait for this to pass. He kept remembering how exhausted and scared Josh had been after he'd had a seizure in Hayley's bathtub. This was his fourth seizure of the night. His body was definitely past the point of exhaustion, and his brain and heart were likely under tremendous stress from the lack of oxygen travelling to either of them.

"What if he bites his tongue?" Brendon asked fearfully, reaching into the backseat to hold Tyler's hand.

"They'll fix it at the hospital," Debby replied simply, glancing into the backseat through her rear view mirror as Josh's muscles slumped and relaxed. She shrugged out of her jacket and held it out to Tyler without taking her eyes off of the road. She'd been through this too many times to hesitate.

Tyler turned Josh onto his side gently, taking the jacket Debby handed him and sliding it under Josh's head. Pushing his fingers past Josh's lips and teeth, he felt the back of Josh's throat. His fingers brushed a thick, wet substance that made him gag, but he did his best to clear Josh's throat. It would be a lie to say that it wasn't just a little bit satisfying to wipe the vomit on Debby's jacket.

"You're okay," Tyler whispered to Josh. "You're going to be okay."

Josh coughed weakly despite still being unconscious. Debby smiled. "He's breathing. That's really good. You've got his throat clear. Good job."

Tyler didn't reply to her, soothing his fingers gently along Josh's side and watching out the window as they parked in front of the hospital. As soon as the car was stopped, Brendon was out of the car and opening Tyler's door to help him get Josh out. Debby hesitated though.

"What are you waiting for? Come on," Brendon said as Tyler readjusted the fragile man in his arms to help him be more comfortable.

"Are you bringing him inside?" She asked nervously.

"What? Of course we're bringing him inside. Were you expecting us to just leave him out front and hope someone happens to find him?" Brendon asked, and Tyler was grateful to hear Brendon be defensive of Josh's well-being.

Debby glanced at the hospital nervously, and Tyler understood. He understood, but he was angry. Even in a moment like this, Debby couldn't stop being selfish. She wasn't going to put her own shit aside to save Josh's life. She wasn't capable.

"Just because you're using again doesn't mean you get to put Josh's life at stake. If you want to be a selfish bitch, that's fine, but don't kill Josh because you can't take responsibility for the shit you're doing," Tyler heard himself say angrily. He didn't mean to say any of that out loud, but he was scared and anxious and angry, and he didn't regret a single word.

Brendon seemed both surprised and impressed by Tyler's outburst, especially when Tyler was too busy carrying Josh toward the front doors of the hospital to see Debby's reaction to his words. Contrary to what she'd been believing up until tonight, this wasn't about her. She didn't need to be here. Tyler could take care of Josh without her. She was one of the most toxic people in Josh's life anyways.

It didn't surprise Tyler that Debby didn't follow them into the hospital. It didn't surprise Tyler that Josh was immediately brought into the emergency room with his blue lips and weak heartbeat. It didn't surprise Tyler that the woman at the front desk looked judgmental when Tyler told her Josh was suffering from a heroin overdose. It didn't surprise Tyler that, while sitting in the waiting room trying to fill out the paperwork that was handed to him, Brendon asked a thousand times if he was okay.

What did surprise Tyler was that Josh's mom and younger siblings seemed more concerned about Tyler than Josh when they got there about a half an hour later. They kept asking if he was okay while Josh's mom finished his paperwork easily. It shouldn't have surprised him how well they were all able to cope with their fear, especially after seeing what Josh's dad lived like, but Tyler didn't know how to be calm like they were.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Mrs. Dun asked Tyler softly, handing Josh's finished paperwork to Jordan so he could bring it back to the reception desk.

Tyler wasn't sure if he should tell her that he felt like his stomach was trying to swallow itself whole and that his entire universe felt like it was ending. He didn't know if he should tell her that he was terrified Josh was going to die like his little brother had. He had no idea what to say to her.

"I'm okay," Tyler replied quietly.

The woman offered him a comforting smile as she allowed Josh's extremely exhausted little sister to climb into her lap. It was pushing five in the morning, but Tyler didn't blame Mrs. Dun for deciding not to leave her sleeping children home with their dad. Jordan sat down beside his mom, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it before looking at the hospital doors that separated them from Josh.

"I should've had you and Josh stay at our house for the night so you didn't have to take care of him all by yourself. You've been amazing with him, and he talks about you like you're an angel, but the risk of him relapsing was too high tonight. Keeping him sober was far too much to ask of you. I'm so sorry about that," Mrs. Dun told Tyler genuinely. "If you need to go home and get some rest or if you want to take a break from being with Josh or don't feel safe being with him anymore, you just let me know. I'll take care of everything. We won't hold anything against you. You've done an amazing job, but he's just barely starting his recovery. I know how overwhelming it can be to help someone through that."

As much as the compassion and understanding in her words meant to Tyler, he didn't want to take the easy way out. Josh needed him, and he needed Josh.

"He can't get rid of me that easily," Tyler replied, making Josh's mom smile. There were tears in her eyes though.

"He said something terrible to you, didn't he? He said something to shock you and hurt you so you'd let him leave?" She asked Tyler, cradling her now sleeping daughter close against her chest. When Tyler hesitated, she nodded. "He used to do that to me too. Before we kicked him out when he was a teenager, he used to manipulate all of us into either being scared of him or feeling sorry for him so we'd keep enabling him. He spiralled downward pretty hard for a few years before I got a call saying he'd overdosed on cocaine and kept asking the nurses to call me. As soon as I got there, he told me he wanted to get clean but didn't know how, so we did what we could to send him to rehab for a little while. It helped. He was better. Debby always drags him back to drugs though. I'm glad he finally realizes how dangerous she is."

Tyler didn't know why he told Josh's mom, but he heard himself saying, "My brother overdosed on opiates. He was a year younger than me. I was the one who found his body. He never wanted to get better. He just half-assed getting better for a while because he knew I wanted him to. Josh isn't like him though. He really wants to be better. He wants to be healthy."

Mrs. Dun shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. That must have been so difficult, and it must still be. Addiction is such a powerful and terrifying thing. I think deciding to fight an addiction can be the most difficult thing in the world. I know it was for me. It's so hard to watch the people you love suffer, and it's even harder to watch them accept their suffering and do nothing to fight it."

Jordan yawned and rested his head on his mom's shoulder. "Like Dad," he said sleepily, his eyes sad.

Brendon draped his arm along the back of Tyler's seat comfortingly when the doors opened, and a doctor came out. He looked around before coming over to Tyler, Brendon, and the Duns.

"Hey there, Miss Laura, " The doctor said warmly, proving that the Duns spent a lot of time here.

"Hi, Dr. Lund," Mrs. Dun replied, thinly veiling her anxiety. "How's my baby doing?"

The doctor spoke calmly and comfortingly as he informed them, "Joshua is stable right now, so we're going to monitor him for a bit longer to make sure he stays there before we start to detox him. He's having a little bit of trouble breathing at the moment, which is likely because the heroin has depressed his central nervous system, so we've got him on oxygen for now. We're going to keep him overnight. Once he's ready to start detoxing, I'll come let y'all know. Do y'all have any questions for me?"

"Is Joshua gonna die?" Josh's little sister asked quietly from her mother's lap.

The doctor smiled at her warmly. "Not if I have anything to say about it. My team and I are doing everything we can to make sure your big brother gets better."

She was quiet as she nodded, resting her head on her her mom's shoulder. Her mother held her closer, kissing the top of her head before looking back to the doctor.

"Can we see him yet?" She asked.

Tyler looked hopefully at the doctor, leaning into Brendon when the other man rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. The doctor sighed.

"Like I said, he's stable, but we don't know if he'll stay that way. That being said, he is awake and responsive right now. I think it would probably be okay for one or two people at a time, but only his immediate family," the doctor replied.

Immediate family. Tyler wasn't Josh's immediate family. He couldn't go see Josh. Suddenly, not only did Tyler feel nauseous, but he felt like he was going to have a complete mental breakdown. He needed to see Josh. He needed to know that Josh was going to be okay.

Mrs. Dun shifted her daughter into Jordan's lap before standing up. "Okay. Jordan, keep an eye on Abbie. Tyler can come with me."

Tyler 's eyes widened as he looked up at Josh's mom, who took his hand gently and pulled him out of his chair. The doctor hesitated.

"Miss Laura-" The doctor began carefully, only for her to cut him off.

"Believe me. If there's anyone Josh is going to want to see now that he's awake, it's Tyler. Tyler is his immediate family. Tyler is the only one of us who sees Josh every day. Josh loves and trusts him. If you want to explain to Josh why the person he cares about most isn't allowed to come see him, Tyler can stay out here, but otherwise, he's coming with me," Mrs. Dun explained calmly.

The doctor seemed too surprised to argue with her, mumbling a "right this way" before leading them toward the door he'd come out of. Tyler looked over his shoulder at Brendon, who looked just as impressed with Josh's mother as Tyler felt. She didn't release his hand for even a second as they walked through the labyrinth of white hallways leading to Josh's room. The closer they got to Josh, the more Tyler wished he was still in the waiting room.

What if Josh was already dead? What if he was still mad at Tyler? What if he was in a coma and never woke up? What if he didn't want to get better anymore? What if his lips were still blue and his pupils were still pinpricks?

As soon as Tyler saw his boyfriend, though, he didn't care as much about the what ifs. He cared about the man who looked like a little boy as he lied with his eyes closed in a hospital bed with a cannula feeding oxygen to his lungs. He cared about the nail polish still adorning Josh's fingers from his day in with Sarah. He cared about the messy pink hair that Tyler had helped him attain. He cared about the heart monitor beating steadily beside the bed. He cared that Josh was going to have another chance to be okay.

When Tyler hesitated in the doorway, Mrs. Dun squeezed his hand before releasing it. She asked the doctor if she could have a word with him in the hall, giving Tyler an excuse to be alone with Josh. His feet stumbled slightly as he walked over to the hospital bed, pulling the chair beside it closer so he could hold Josh's cold hand. He let out a shaky breath.

"You're going to get better," Tyler whispered to Josh although he appeared to be sleeping again, "and I'm not letting you give up on that. I'm not giving up on you. We can do this. I know we can."

He kissed Josh's forehead softly, brushing his hair back for him. He sat back, holding Josh's limp hand softly. He caressed Josh's knuckles softly with his thumb, letting the silence wash over the room. The only sound was the heart monitor beating.

When he looked back up at Josh, empty hazel eyes met his. Josh's pupils were still shrunken from his overdose, but the naloxone had blocked the high. His body was suffering, but he wasn't in a state of mind to not feel it. Tyler had never seen Josh look this depressed in the whole time he'd known him.

"Hey," Tyler whispered to him, hearing his voice break.

Josh didn't reply, looking down at his pillow instead of meeting Tyler's eyes. Tears filled Tyler's eyes. If Josh's ability to produce serotonin and dopamine had been compromised before, it had to be incredibly damaged now.

"I'm sorry," Tyler told Josh quietly, brushing his fingers through Josh's messy hair again.

"For what?" Josh mumbled, his voice cracked and broken from lack of use and dehydration. He still wasn't meeting Tyler's eyes.

Tyler kept soothing his fingers through Josh's hair as he spoke. "I'm sorry for pretending I could fix all of this on my own instead of asking you what you needed."

Josh shook his head tiredly. "Shut up," he mumbled before closing his eyes. "Not your fault."

"It's not yours either," Tyler replied quietly. He laid his head down on the pillow beside Josh's, nudging their noses together. "I'm not mad at you, you know. Brendon isn't either. I had to tell him what was going on, but he gets it. He's in the waiting room with your brother and sister. Your mom is talking to the doctor in the hall."

Josh's eyes opened, glancing at the door before closing again. "Sorry," he whispered.

"I'm not mad at you," Tyler repeated.

Josh shook his head, shifting just slightly so his nose touched Tyler's. He let Tyler press a soft kiss to his lips. When Tyler laid his head back down beside Josh's, Josh finally made eye contact.

"I probably have puke on my mouth. Sorry," Josh mumbled tiredly.

"That's okay. I already scooped puke out of your throat today with my fingers, and I don't think I ever washed my hands," Tyler said, finally making his boyfriend smile slightly. Somehow, Josh's smile only made Tyler want to cry more.

"We're gross," Josh mumbled out.

Tyler smiled solemnly, kissing Josh once again. "That's okay. I still love you."

Josh let out a tiny wheeze of a breath before resting his forehead against Tyler's. "Sorry," he whispered again.

"I'm not mad," Tyler reminded him. "I've cried a lot, and I've been really worried, but I'm not mad. You're sick, Josh, and you had an insanely triggering day. It was wrong for us to expect you to be able to handle things like that so early on in your recovery. That's why I'm sorry. I'm sorry you never get the support you need when you have a chance to get better. How can I make that easier for you?"

It was clear that it took all of Josh's energy for him to scoot over in his bed. His arms trembled when he sat up to do it, so Tyler eased him back down. Josh's bottom lip trembled too at his inability to control his body. Tyler understood what Josh was asking of him though, climbing up onto the bed beside him and wrapping Josh up in his arms. Josh rested his head on Tyler's chest tiredly, his weary body shaking as he started to cry.

"You should dump me," Josh whispered.

"You should let me borrow your hoodies more often," Tyler replied, absolutely certain he wouldn't be able to keep himself together if they did this right now. "They're comfy, and they smell good."

"You shouldn't talk to me anymore," Josh insisted.

"You should shut up and let me hold you," Tyler said as he pulled Josh closer. When Josh was quiet for a moment, Tyler whispered, "You smell so bad."

"I feel worse," Josh grumbled, seeming grateful when Tyler wiped his tears away for him. "Everything hurts. Feel like I'm gonna pass out."

"Close your eyes and try to sleep before your body stops letting you. I'll be right here," Tyler whispered to him. "I love you."

"Love you," Josh mumbled back weakly. "My mama's here?"

"She's outside," Tyler informed him softly.

Josh nodded, his body in too much pain for him to do anything else. His muscles were all tensing. "Gonna pass out," Josh mumbled, his words slurring.

"You're okay, Josh. You're going to be okay, baby. Don't push yourself. Just relax," Tyler whispered as softly as he could to Josh.

Josh slumped against him though, unconscious once again. Tyler's breath trembled as he ran his fingers through Josh's hair. He held Josh and played with his hair for about ten minutes before Mrs. Dun came back into the room. Tyler had cried himself out of tears once again by the time the tiny woman walked in. She smiled when she saw how Josh was pressed against Tyler's chest, wrapped up snugly in his arms.

"He talked to me for a little while, but then he passed out," Tyler told her, his words followed by a sniffle.

She nodded, rubbing Josh's back softly before soothing her fingers through Tyler's hair. "I'm so grateful for you," she told him softly.

He smiled at her, but he was starting to cry again. She rubbed his back softly.

"If you want to stay the night here with him, I can tell the doctors that you're getting married. Fiancés count as immediate family," she told him kindly.

Tyler nodded. "I don't want him to be alone when he wakes up."

She smiled. "I appreciate that. I'll take your friend home for you. You just stay here and try to get some rest."

Tyler nodded, holding Josh closer. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Goodnight, honey." She pressed a kiss to Tyler's forehead before pressing one to her son's. "I'll see you two in the morning. Call if you need anything."

He nodded, his exhaustion finally hitting him. His body relaxed beside Josh's when Mrs. Dun left the room. He knew Josh was being monitored, so doctors would be in and out all night, but he couldn't help himself from feeling safe and at home beside his boyfriend despite the severity of the situation. He drifted off to the sound of Josh's heart monitor beeping rhythmically. Despite anxiously waking up every five minutes to check on Josh, this night wasn't anywhere near as terrible as it could've been. Tyler might have woken up a lot in the night, but at least he was waking up next to Josh every time.